Registering device for strip material



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Jan. 30, 1940. w. c. BRoE'KHuYsVEN REGISTERING' DEVICE FOR STRIP MATERIAL Patented Jan. 30, 1940 PATENT OFFICE 2,188,871 RGISTERING DEVICE FOB STRIP MATERIAL William C. Broekhuysen, Brooklyn,` N. Y., assignor to International Cigar Machinery Company, a corporation oi' New Jersey Application April 2,1, 1937, Serial No. 138,082

15 Claims.

This invention relates to registering 'devices for strip material, such as paper, Cellophane, foil,- etc., used 'in wrapping articles by packaging machines, its main object being to provide improved I means for intermittently Vfeeding a continuous web bearing a recurrent design in such a manner that a given operation on the web, such'as cutting` or perforating, takes place in xed space relation to that design indicated by marks on l the web.

One principle employed in the present invention is that of moving the web forward step by step from a fixed registering position a constant distance substantially greater than the distance u between consecutive, design component marks, to register the passing of the next following mark during the last part of the forward stroke, and then, after performing the operation, moving the web back by the amount of the registered over- 20 shoot. In carrying the invention into effect with the embodiment illustrated, the registering is done by a photoelectric tube which, at the moment of registration, energizes an electromagnet which in .turn releases a clutch and applies a z brake, thereby causing the overshoot motion to be absorbed by a spring which, during the return stroke of the intermittent drive after performing the operation on the web, pulls the web back over a distance substantially equal to the overshoot, 30 returning the mark to registering position, ready for the next advance. Thus this invention oontemplates that the correction will be applied to the next following rather than the concurrent stroke, which is of particular advantage if the Fig. 2 is a cross section on line 2-2 of Fig. l,

5 showing the mechanism for feeding the web and for correcting the overshoot;

Fig. 3 is an end view on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a cross-section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.`

ReferringA to Fig. 1, the web W, through the ,-,0 intermittent rotation of feed rollers 5 and 8, is advanced a definite substantially invariable amount which is slightly in excess of the distance between successive indices or marks M on the web. The roller 5, which is mounted on a shaft u 1 having a gear 8, is driven by a rack 9 pivoted (Cl. T11-21.6)

to a lever I 0 swinging on a shaft II and being actuated by aneccentric I2 mounted on a shaft I3. An electromagnet I4 is energized at the instant the mark M passes under a detector I5 during the forward stroke of the web, but does not 5 interrupt or change the feed. After the web has been operated upon at the end of the forward stroke, as for instance by the cutter I6, it is pulled back by an amount equal to the distance which the mark M went beyond the detector during the forward stroke, but the detector does not operate the electromagnet during this reverse motion.

The detector consists of a photoelectric tube I1 which is responsive to the light reflected by the passing mark M, rays from a lamp I8 being 15 thrown on this mark by a condensing lens I9 and a focusing lens 20. The lamp I8 is fed from an electric line 2| which also supplies an amplifier 22 connected to the photoelectric tube I1 in the usual manner. The amplified current energizes a relay 230, the line-current from which passes to the coils I4a of electromagnet I4 through a contact 24, the said contact being controlled by a cam 25 operated in synchronism with the web drive by a chain 26 from shaft I3, its object be- 25 ing to release the electromagnet before the start of each forward stroke and to prevent operation of the same by the detector at ltoo early a moment which might cause damage to the registering mechanism. When the relay 230 is actu- 30 ated by the tube I1, at the moment a mark M passes under the detector I5, line current passes to the magnet coils I4a. through a coil 21 whereby avsecond contact 28 is closed which connects the coils I4a directly to the line 2i through the wires 35 shown, thus holding the electromagnet energized until the contact 24 is broken by the cam 25. The opening of contact 24, by stoppingA the current to the magnet coils, de-energizes the coil 21 and therefore also breaks contact 28. If desired, 40 the establishment of a holding circuit may be effected by a thyratron or by other well-known f means.

The feed roller 5 is mounted on a key 29 in shaft 1, Fig. 2, a gear 3U on the same key driving 45 a gear 3| on shaft 32 of feed roller 8. Shaft 1 turns in a bushing 33 supported in a bearing 34 of the frame 35. Free to turn on bushing 33 is mounted a spur gear 8 which engages with an internal gear segment 36 pivoted on a shaft 31', 50 Fig. 3. A shaft 38 mounted in a bearing 39 of frame and carrying a crank 40 makes one revolution per stroke of the web, the crank 40 being connected by a link 4I to segment 36 which thus oscillates when shaft 38 revolves, the ampliu tude of oscillation depending on the length `of crank 46. Either the segment-drive shown in Figs. 2 or 3, or the rack drive shown in Fig. 1 may be used to feed the web, according to whichever is most conveniently applicable to the drive of the machine under consideration.

Integral with driving gear 8 is a disk 42 carrying one or more pawls 43 which engage with a ratchet wheel 44 keyedto shaft 1. The ratchet wheel 44 is part of a clutch disk 4.5 engaging with a clutch disk 46 mounted on a bushing 41 of shaft 1, the faces of these clutch disks being serrated or otherwise roughened for increased friction.

Clutch disk 46 is normally held in engagement by a spring 48 bearing against a housing 49 fast on shaft 1, but can be disengaged by energizing the electromagnet I4 which then attracts a disk 50 attached to or integral with clutch disk 46. The pole faces of magnet I4 are lined with brass shims 5I to prevent the disk 50 fromsticking to them due to remanent magnetism after breaking of the current through coils I4a. l

Disk carries a pin 52 and disk 46 has two pins 53 and 54, a spring 55`between pins 52 and 54 tending to hold pins 52 and 53 in contact. vWhen the angle of relative motion between disks 45 and 46 is comparatively small, for moderate differences between the forward stroke of the web W and the distance between operating marks M on the same, a coil spring 55 is used as shown, but for large angles of motion a at spiral spring wound around the periphery of disk 46 is preferable. When the engagement of clutch disks 45 and 46 is broken by the action of electromagnet I4, the continued motion of shaft 1 separates pins 52 land 53, thereby stretching the spring 55 which, on the return stroke of segment 36 turns the shaft 1 backward until the pin 53 is again in contact with pin 62. To prevent reverse rotation of disk 50, a friction pawl 56 is pivoted on frame 35 so as to permit turning of the same in the forward .direction only.

On key 29 of shaft 1 is mounted a friction brake 51, Figs. 2 and 4, to prevent overrunning of shaft 1 `in the forward direction, but so arranged as to release the shaft when turning in the reverse direction. The drum 51 carries a sleeve 58 upon which bear the friction linings 59 of the brake shoes 60 pivoted on shaft 31 and held in tension by a spring 6|. Balls 62 inserted hito rectilinear grooves 63 in the periphery of brake drum 51 jam against the inside of sleeve 58 and lock the brake drum to the sleeve on the forward motion of shaft 1, but are loose in the rear portions of the grooves on its return motion.

During the downwardor feeding stroke of segment 36, the pawls 43 engage ratchet 44 and turn the shaft. When the mark M passes under the detector I5 during this stroke, the electromagnet I4, owing to the action of photoelectrlc tube I1. becomes energized and disengages the clutch 46, disk 50 being pulled against the polefaces 5I of the magnet which act as a brake, thus stopping the disk instantaneously.' The shaft 1, however, continuing to turn until the lend of the stroke, pin 52 leaves pin 53, and spring.

to rest against pin` 53. 'I 'he spring 55 thus deliverlng its stored-up tension, it is evident that the return motion of the web W, after cutting off a panel, is equal to the distance which the mark M of the next following panel has traveled rafter 'passing the detector I5 during its' forwardfmotion, regardless of the amount of this distance.V

At the end of the return stroke, in position 36" `of segment 36, the magnet I4 is de-energized by cam 25 which breaks the contact 24 and thus interrupts the holding circuit 21. At this moment, therefore, the web W has the end mark M of the panel to be cut in registration with the detector I5, the clutch 46 is engaged, and contacts 24 and 28 are open, ready for the next for. ward stroke. Near the end of that stroke, before the next following mark M passes under the detector, the cam 25 closes contact 24 so that the electromagnet I4 is ready to act as soon as that mark comes into registration.

In case the detector is made inoperative to` very near theend of the forward stroke, as may be necessary if the design on the web covers most of the space between register marks, it may happen that the mark passes the detector before the us'y contact 24 is closed so that the magnet will not 1 be energized and the clutch 46 will remain in engagement. In thisevent, pawl 56 will prevent reverse rotation of disk 56 and shaft 1.

. Since the space over the panel of the web to' be operated upon in most cases is limited, the de- While one particular embodiment of the invention has been selected for illustration herein, it is obvious that the apparatus employed may .be widely varied in construction within the scope of the claims, for the specific, apparatus villustrated is ,but one of many possible embodiments of the same. The invention therefore is not to be restricted to the details illustrated and described, ynor'to the particular embodiments chosen as illustrative of the. invention.

What isclaimed is: 1. A web registering device for registering rel ative to an operating position, a web having recurrent indicia thereon and carrying registering instrumentalities in fixed relation to said indicia, comprising means to operate upon the web at predetermined constant intervals mechanism for intermittently over-feeding the web in a forward direction, preliminary to each operation `a distance greater than the distance between successive indicia, a detector arranged to detect said instrumentalities as they pass-a predetermined point during the forward movement'of the web, vand means vcontrolledby said detectorv for .moving the web backward. between forwarding movements, after every operation, an amount substantially equal to the over-feed of said strip during the preceding forwarding movement.

2. A web registering device for registering relative to an operating position, a web having recurrent indicia thereon and carrying registering intermittently over-'feeding the web in a forward direction, preliminary to each operation a distance greater than the distance between successive indicia, a detector arranged to detect said instrumentalities as they pass a predetermined point during the forward movement of theweb, andA means controlled by said detector for moving the web backward between forwarding movements, vafter every operation, an amount substantially equal to the over-feed of said strip during the preceding forwarding movement, said detecting device'comprising a photoelectric'cell and a light source arranged to direct light to said instrumentality and thence to said cell.

3. A web registering device for registering relative to an operating position, a web having recurrent indicia thereon and carrying registering instrumentalities in fixed relation to said indicia, comprising means to'operate upon the web at predetermined constant intervals mechanism for intermittently over-feeding the web in a forward direction, preliminary to each operation a distance greater than the distance between successive indicia, a detector arranged to detect said instrumentalities as they pass a predetermined point during the forward movement of the web, and means controlled by said detector for moving the web backward between vforwarding movements, after every operation, an amount substantially equal to the over-feed of said strip during the preceding forwarding movement, said mechanism comprising movable parts normally moving in unison for controlling the feeding of the web and means producinga relative motion between said parts subsequent to the forward feed movement.

4. A web registering device for registering relaive to an operating position, a web having recurrent indicia thereon and carrying Aregistering instrumentalities in fixed relation to said indicia, comprising mechanism for intermittently overfeeding the web in a forward direction a distance greatemthan the distance between successive indicia, a' "ietector arranged to detect said instrumentalities as they pass a predetermined point during the forward movement of the web, and means controlled by said detector for moving the web backward between forwarding movements an amount substantially equal to the overfeed of said strip during forwarding movement, said mechanism comprising movable parts normally moving in unison for controlling the feeding of the web and means producing a relative motion between said parts subsequent to the forward feed movement, said means including a spring connection between said parts tensioned by movement subsequent to passage by the indicia portion beyond said detector. v

5. A continuous web registering device for registering recurrent indicia on a web relative to an operating position, comprising means to operate vupon the web at predetermined constant intervals means for intermittently feeding forward the web, a detector arranged to detect a portion of said indicia on the web when said portion passes a predetermined point during the forward movement of the web, and means controlled by said detector for moving the webbackward between forwarding movements, after every operation an amount substantially equal to that part of the forward motion which occurred subsequent to the passage of said portion past said position.

8. A continuous web registering device for registering recurrent yindicia on a web relative to an operating position, comprising means to operate upon the web at predetermined constant intervals means for intermittently feeding forward the web, a detector arranged to detect a reflective portion of said indicia on the web when said portion passes a predetermined point during the Cil forward movement of theweb, and means controlled by said detector for moving the web backward between forwarding movements, after every operation an amount substantially equal to that part of the forward motion which occurred subsequent to the passage of said portion past said position, said detecting device comprising at least one photoelectric cell and illuminating means therefor arranged to' direct light onto said pattern and from the reflective portion thereof to said photoelectric cell.

7. A web feeding and registering device for feeding to an operating position webs having recurrent printed panels thereon, comprising in combination means to operate upon the web at predetermined constant intervals lan intermittent web feed for intermittently feeding the web by amounts slightly greater than the distance between patterns, preliminary to each operation a detector responsive to the pattern on said web, and mechanism controlled by said detector for ldrawing said web back a distance substantially equal to the amount the web was overfed in a forward direction during each preceding movement of the web, after each operation.

8. A web feeding and Aregistering device for feeding to an operating position, webs having recurrent printed panels thereon, comprising in combination an intermittent web feedfor intergreater than the distance between patterns, a detector responsive to the pattern on said web, means to operate upon the web at predetermined constant intervals and mechanism controlled by said detector for drawing said web back a distance substantially equal to the amount the web was overfed in a forward direction between forward movements of the web, preliminary to each operation said detector being positioned to detect overfeeding of a panel, after every operation, at

least one panel back of that at the operating position and said detector and mechanism coacting to apply the correction to the same panel at the operating position which was detected back oi' said position.

`9. A web feeding and registering device for feeding to an operating position, webs having recurrent printed panels thereon, and light-reflective portions associated with said printed panels, said device comprising in combination an intermittent web feed for intermittently feeding the web by amounts slightly greater than the distance between patterns, means to operate upon the web at predetermined constant intervals a .detector responsive to the pattern onsaid web,

Vrnittently feeding the web by amounts slightly electric cell arranged to respond to said reflective portions.

10. In an intermittent web feed for feeding webs having spaced registering elements thereon,

the combination with a web gripping means, of

means for imparting intermittent forward web feeding movement to said web gripping means in excess of the desired feeding movement, a detector responsive to said elements, and means controlled by said detector for imparting a reverse movement to said gripping means, to a linear extent bearing a definite predetermined re- Alation to the over-feed of said web during the preceding forwarding movement thereof, a brake acting on said gripping means to prevent overrunning thereof, and means rendering said brake inoperative in the reverse direction of movement of said gripping means.

11. In an intermittent web feed for feeding webs having spaced registering elements thereon, i

the combination with a web gripping means, of

means for imparting intermittent forwardA web i feeding movement to said web gripping means in excess of the desired feeding movement, a. detector responsive to said elements, and means controlled by said detector for imparting a reverse movement to said gripping means, to a linear extent bearing a definite predetermined relation to the over-feed of said web during the preceding forwarding movement thereof, saldra verse movement imparting means including two relatively movable parts the first one of which is driven by said intermittent web feed, a clutch connecting said parts, means controlled by said detector for disconnecting said parts and for halting the movement ofthe second part while the first part continues to move, and said re- 1 verse movement imparting means being arranged to be energized by the relative movement of the two parts.

12. In an intermittent web feed for feeding webs having spaced registering elements thereon, the combination with a web gripping means, of means for imparting intermittent forward web feeding movement to said web gripping means inexcess of the desired feeding movement, a detector responsive to said elements, and means controlled by said detector for imparting a reverse movement to said grippingv means, said reverse movement imparting means includingv two relatively movable parts the first one of which is driven by said intermittent web feed, a

vclutch connecting said parts, means controlled by said detector for disconnecting said parts and webs having spaced registering elements thereon, the combination with a web gripping means, of means for imparting intermittent forward web feeding movement to said web gripping means in excess of the desired feeding movement, a. detector responsive to said elements, and means controlled by said detector for imparting a reverse'movement to said` gripping means, to a linear extent bearing a definite predetermined relation tothe over-feed of said web during the preceding forwarding movement thereof, and whereby the correction is applied'to the'next following stroke, so that detection, correction and cutting may take place on the same panel.

14. A web registering device for registering, relatively to an operating position, a web having recurrent indicia thereon and carrying registering instrumentalities in fixed relation to said inl` dicia, said device comprising mechanism for feeding the web forward from a fixed registering position, step by step, a constant distance greater than the distance between consecutivey design component marks, to register the passing of the next following design component mark, during the last part of the forward stroke, said steps being predetermined in conformity with a standard spacing of said indicia, and means to reconcile and rectify disconformiti between the actual extent of any of said feeding steps and the actual distance between the corresponding indicia?, by sensing such disconformity as the web appreaches the operating position, and then, after performing the operation, moving the web a suitable distance back by the amount of the regis-l tered overshoot, to position thesame properly for a subsequent feeding step of standard value, said reconciling means including a spring which, during the return stroke of the intermittent drive,

after performing the operation on the web, pulls the web back over a distance substantially equal to the pvershoot, returning the mark to the registeringiposition, ready for the next advance, thereby absorbing the overshoot motion.

15. A web registering device for registering,`

relatively to an operating position, a web having recurrent indicia thereon and carrying registering instrumentalities in xed relation to said indicia, said device comprising mechanism. for feeding the web forward from a fixed registering position, step by step, in steps conforming with-50 a standardspacing of said indicia, and for a constant distance substantially greater than the forming. the operation, moving the web back by` the amount of the registered overshoot, tol position the same properly for a subsequent feeding step fof standard value.

WILLIAM C. BRQEKHUYSEN. 

